I bought a Camaro that was sitting for 10 years. Today, I dropped the tank and got the brown stuff (rust and old gas) out of it. So now, I need to clean the tank. Unfortunately, it looks like it has baffles inside it so I am not sure I will be able to reach into all the parts of the tank with a pressure washer to clean the old residue and loose rust. All the videos on YouTube I watched are for tanks that are open inside (no baffles) and vinegar or other cleaning solution can be stirred (sometimes with metal nuts to loosen the rust). Doesn't appear this will work with my tank though.

As an alternative, I could get a new tank but for now, I am trying to keep the cost down so I can determine if the car runs or not. Don't really want to spend more money than I absolutely need.

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

Maybe try something like this? There's always the Renu process, but it can cost as much as a new tank.

https://www.gastankrenu.com/

https://www.eastwood.com/gas-tank-se...nk-sealer.html

 

Thanks for the links. I think the service to clean the tank will be, as you mentioned, close to the new tank price. I was also looking at the tank sealer but that is the last step. First you need to clean the tank and that doesn't seem to be an easy process with all the baffles.

 

Understood.

I'm not a paid Eastwood spokesman, nor have I used this kit (but have used other Eastwood products with good results). That kit does contain some rust removers and prep along with the sealer.

"Wondering how to seal a gas tank? Our Gas Tank Sealer Kit rids the gas tank of damaging rust, and then seals it, so your fuel stays cleaner. Plus, the gas tank sealant seals minor leaks, so there's no need to search all around town (or pay) for a replacement gas tank for your restoration project. It's an inexpensive way to repair your gas tank."

 

Decades ago I tried a gas tank sealer on a tank. Don't remember the brand, but it had the usual product promises. It lasted a few years, then began to disintegrate and clogged my fuel lines.

So go for it.

 

Have a look at Red Kote.

 

I got into a batch of old tractors about two years ago. In the 30+ pieces of equipment, about 4 had run within the previous 5 years. Most of the rest I know hadn't been run since 2002 or earlier, and three tractors and a '48 ****** hadn't been run at least since 1981, and possibly before then. Several of the tanks had basically road tar in them, holding the sediment in place. Almost all of them had not only baffles but bulkheads to separate the gasoline side of the tank from the kerosene side. I had very good success cleaning them with methanol, and didn't lose a single seam in the process. Forget ethanol and isopropyl, since they are nearly ineffective. Methanol is not inexpensive, but I could re-use some of the second and third stage cleaning batches as the first batch on several other tanks. I went through about 50-60 gallons, and did most of the cleaning outdoors to minimize the explosion hazard. For a single ThirdGen tank, a person might get by with three passes using a couple gallons each time, and agitating the tank thoroughly. Of course, it would have to be removed to accomplish that. For the cost of a larger quantity of methanol (around $10/g) a new fuel tank might be worth considering, unlike the cost of a non-existent "new" 1929 Deere GP dual fuel tank.

 

Thanks guys. I decided to just buy a new tank. When my son and I were removing old gas yesterday, there was a lot of loose rust that we couldn't even flush out. With all the baffles, I do not think I would be able to remove all of it and since I already got a new fuel pump, I thought a new tank would be a safer bet than trying to clean the old one.

 

Came into this thread to post ^^^^this. Besides the fact that you'd never know if you got the old tank really clean---until it clogged your fuel pump and stranded you out on the road---messing with an old fuel tank just isn't a very safe thing to do.

 

I wouldn't recommend getting a new tank, they are all based off the Dorman tank, and you loose 2 gal in capacity (they are all 14 gal tanks, while the factory was 15.5 or 16 for V8's,) they have no baffles and tons of fitment issues(do a search on this forum). I cleaned out my tank and it turned out spotless, (than I welded in a sump, but that's a different story), I took 2 gallons of hydrochloric acid (known as muriatic acid, available at pool supply stores) put it in the tank, filled it the rest of the way with water, let it sit for 24 hrs, dumped it out, rinsed it out put a box of baking soda in it and filled it with water again to neutralize any remaining acid, let it sit for another 24 hrs, dumped that out rinsed it out, welded the sump in than put a quart of the cheapest oil I could find in it and sloshed it around to keep it from rusting. It looks brand new on the inside and I had chunk of rust in it too, its allot better than getting a bad fitting tank that loosed 2 gallons.

 

I got a spectra one, probably 2019 or so, and it was a direct fit, fully baffled inside, and I'm pretty sure I've put close to 13gal in it with the gauge just barely in the orange so 16gal capacity is totally believable. The only issue I have is it's a pain to fill because of the way the pumps are Costco work. No idea if the original tank would have had the same issue though as the last time it saw a gas station was 2004.